The chairman of the board of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (INTIC), Lourino Alberto Chemane, argued on Friday (18) in Maputo that Mozambique should not limit itself to importing artificial intelligence models developed abroad, and must also create its own solutions tailored to the country's specific needs and challenges.
Chemane was speaking at the 2nd edition of the FUNDEC Economic Outlook, held in Maputo, a forum dedicated to discussing the main challenges and opportunities linked to competitiveness, productivity, employment, digital transformation, and the future of Mozambique's business sector.
According to the INTIC chairman, artificial intelligence should be viewed as a strategic opportunity to accelerate Mozambique's economic and social development, particularly through its application in addressing concrete problems facing the national economy.
"We must stop looking at artificial intelligence merely as a sophisticated technology used by large economies. We must view it as a strategic opportunity to accelerate our own process of economic and social development," he said.
Chemane argued that the central question should no longer be simply how to use artificial intelligence, but rather how the technology can be applied to solve Mozambique's specific problems and create value for the economy. In his address, he contended that the country needs to develop a culture of decision-making based on data and evidence, enabling the state to better understand the real economy, businesses to better grasp their markets, and investors to access quality economic information.
For Chemane, data must be treated as a strategic national asset, provided it is properly protected, organised, and used to support innovation, competitiveness, and the emergence of new business models. The INTIC chairman warned, however, that digital transformation does not depend solely on the availability of technology.
"Data without governance does not produce trust, information without quality does not produce good decisions, and technology without competence does not produce sustainable transformation," he said.
Among the pillars considered essential for the development of artificial intelligence in Mozambique, Chemane identified digital infrastructure, data governance, human capital development, innovation and entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, and the creation of responsible AI governance mechanisms.
He also stressed the need to strengthen connectivity, data centres, computing capacity, secure digital services, and broad internet access as conditions to enable citizens and businesses to participate effectively in the digital economy.
On the subject of innovation, Chemane was more direct in arguing that Mozambique should not rely exclusively on solutions developed outside the country.
"The Government of Mozambique's vision is that our country should not only adopt AI models developed abroad. We have to develop artificial intelligence models," he declared.
In this context, he called on Mozambican companies, startups, higher education institutions, innovation centres, and technology parks to take a more active role in developing nationally-driven solutions oriented towards local problems. Chemane also noted that artificial intelligence can generate impact across sectors including agriculture, energy, mining, tourism, communications, logistics, fisheries, industry, trade, and services, provided it is integrated into an economic development strategy.
The INTIC chairman further underlined that the adoption of artificial intelligence must be accompanied by principles of transparency, accountability, security, privacy, non-discrimination, and human oversight.
"Technology should not replace human responsibility, but enhance the human capacity to solve problems and create development," he argued.
Chemane also revealed that Mozambique is finalising the elaboration of a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, a document intended to guide the adoption and development of the technology in the country. According to the official, companies and other stakeholders in society can still submit contributions to the document before it is presented to the government.
For the INTIC chairman, artificial intelligence should be understood beyond its technological dimension, constituting equally an economic, business, and social agenda.
"It should not be seen as an exclusively technological agenda. It is, above all, an economic, business, social, and development agenda for Mozambique," he concluded.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=545445
